Alfred Newman conquered film music yet again with 1947′s CAPTAIN FROM CASTILE. The colorful score combines the robust energy of its Spanish and Mexican locales for the tale of Pedro De Vargas (Tyrone Power), a young Castillian aristocrat who runs afoul of the Inquisition and joins Cortez’s (Cesar Romero) adventures in the New World discovering Aztec treasures. The [...]

ALFRED NEWMAN guards my apartment. In my entryway, a framed, bronze, first-day-issue Newman postage stamp welcomes visitors. This used to sit on my desk but it often got lost among the CDs, papers, To Do lists, and Post-It notes with time-sensitive tasks that I always ignored. So I gave Al a place of honor. (I [...]

For a heathen like me, films with religious overtones are usually best when played for their camp entertainment value, a la THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. Something where the spectacle overwhelms anything overtly pious. Personal religious stories tend to come off as preachy and make my skin crawl. So why do I love THE SONG OF BERNADETTE so [...]

Today, HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY is known as the film that  most cinephiles believe “undeservedly” won the 1941 Best Picture prize over CITIZEN KANE. While VALLEY may not be a groundbreaking film, it is a moving and touching memoir. Based on Richard Llewellyn’s novel, John Ford’s heartwarming film tells the story of a Welsh [...]

AIRPORT was the beginning and the end. The beginning of a successful franchise and the disaster movie genre of the 1970′s. And the end of one of the most influential film composers of all time–Alfred Newman. While tame by today’s standards of disasters, both in film and real life, AIRPORT entertains in spite of itself. [...]

When THIS IS CINERAMA was released in 1952, critics called it “The answer to television!” Cinerama was a new process in which three camera magazines were mounted as one. The 27-millimeter lenses, which filmed three separate images with a single shutter, together had the same focal length as the human eye and curved at the same radius [...]

I may not have been pleased with the packaging of 20th Century Fox’s 50th anniversary DVD of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, but the power of George Stevens’ film and Alfred Newman’s score remain intact. Like the sun pouring through the attic’s broken skylight, Newman’s beautiful score shines a ray of light into the Franks’ [...]

It’s an Alfred Newman kinda week here at Film Score Click Track. And today we visit my favorite film, which also just happens to feature a score by Newman, my favorite film composer. (Just a coincidence, trust me.) The ultimate film about the theatre, ALL ABOUT EVE racked up the most nominations ever–14!–at the 1950 [...]

For the 50th anniversary of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK (1959), 20th Century Fox has rereleased the film on DVD and for the first time on Blu-ray. Since I have yet to make the leap to Blu-ray, this review will cover the DVD release. Whether on the page, on stage, or onscreen, the story of Anne [...]

From George Washington to George W. Bush, the American presidency has always inspired film composers. Though this post is a bit late to celebrate the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth in February, it’s never too late to visit John Ford’s YOUNG MR. LINCOLN (1939) and Alfred Newman’s typically excellent score.